Just In: There’s a Beachy Chin Chin Outpost Coming Soon, Sydney

Nine months after opening an outpost of his swanky Venetian grill in the CBD, Chris Lucas is back making Sydney moves. Today, the Melbourne-centric restaurateur announces another Chin Chin for the Harbour City – this time just a few blocks back from the beach in Manly.

The original Chin Chin opened in 2011 on Flinders Lane in Melbourne to immediate popularity. The menu referenced dishes from across Southeast Asia, with a strong Thai influence, in a buzzy, neon-lit industrial space. Chin Chin travelled northwards in 2017, when the Lucas Group opened an equally popular Surry Hills dining room on Commonwealth Street; and since 2024, there’s been an outpost in Geelong’s GMHBA Stadium. The fourth Chin Chin is now readying to open on Manly’s Raglan Street, opposite the ever-popular Noon, just around the corner from the Pavonis’ Cibaria and local favourites like Busta, Sketch and Sunset Sabi. And when it does, there will be familiar faces in the kitchen.

Chin Chin’s founding chef Benjamin Cooper, who trained under David Thompson, is leading the Manly location, along with exec chef Matthew MacLeod, who’s been in the Surry Hills kitchen since day dot.

The pair are working on Manly exclusives, but anyone familiar with the venue’s menu can expect the hits – like coconut-dressed kingfish sashimi, Wagyu pad see ew and crispy corn fritters kept fresh with herbs in a lettuce cup.

“We’ve never been interested in copying and pasting a restaurant into a new suburb,” Cooper said in a statement. “Every Chin Chin has its own personality, shaped by the people, the place and the way locals like to dine, and Manly gives us an incredible opportunity to create something that’s uniquely its own.”

The venue will sit within Two Tides, a residential development by Time & Place.

“By the time we open the doors in Manly, it will be 10 years since Chin Chin first arrived in Sydney in the historic Griffiths Teas building in Surry Hills,” Lucas said in a statement. “Since then, Sydney has embraced Chin Chin in ways we could only have hoped for, and the response to Grill Americano has only reinforced our confidence to continue investing in this city.”

The announcement comes just days ahead of Brisbane transplant Stanley – one of Australia’s top Cantonese restaurants – opening in the former Queen Chow space on Manly Wharf, where the Felons Brewing team has been busy redeveloping the food and drink offering.

Chin Chin is expected to open at 9 Raglan Street, Manly, in mid-2027.

@chinchin